Harvester



e. TODD.

No."295.463 Patented Mar. 18,1884.

(No Model.)

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G. N. TODD.

COTTON HARVESTER. No. 295,463. Patented Mar. 18. 1884.

MEEEQES.

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G. N. TODD.

COTTON HARVESTER. No. 295.488. 8 Patented M817. 18-, 1884.:

N. PETERS. Pbowumo n hnr. Washington. D. C

- 3 j UNITED ST TES PATENT @FFICE.

GEORGE N. TODD, OF FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS.

COTTON-HARVESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 295,463, dated March 18, 1884.

Application filed July 26, 1883. (No model.)

all whom zit may concern: Be it known that I, GEORGE N. Tom), a

.citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Smith, in the county of Sebastian and State of Arkansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Pickers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in cotton-harvesting machines; and it consists in certain constructions and details of construction hereinafter pointed out and claimed.

' The object of my invention is to produce an improved machine which operates to pick and delivercotton by means of endless belts provided with teeth somewhat similar to the teeth of a carding-engine.

Inthe drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the frame of the machine with the operative parts removed. Fig. 2 is a diagonal front view,looking into the picker. Fig. 3 is a side view of the machine, parts being broken away. Fig. .4 is a rear view, the rear plate being removed on the left-hand side, to showthe belts and driving-cylinders in position. The right-hand side of the figure shows the gearing by which the belts are driven.

- A denotes the frame of the machine. This frame is mounted on wheels, the driving-wheels being on axles 1. The frame carries the operative parts of the machine which are driven from the said wheels. The frame is composed of wood or metal, and has a converging passage-way through from front to rear. The front part of the frame is partiallyclosed by plates A, one at each side. The plates have spaces B extending in a horizontal direction,

derstood, however, that I do not limit myself to this particular formof frame and braces.

7 Extending infront of the frameA are suitable supports, which carry standards a,- or the sides of the frame may project forward and terminate in said standards. From these standards fingers or guides a extend to the projections B. These fingers or guides are of triangular, conical, or wedge form, being nearly pointed in front and growing gradually wider and thicker toward the rear. The fingers may be made of bent sheets of metal, or

.of any light material, presenting the rounded edge toward the inside passage-way. They serve to enter between the branches of the cotton-plant, and guide said branches into the spaces between the picker-belts. The projections B on the plates at the rear of the frame serve as supports for the picker-belt cylinder.

Extending from the projections B at the front of the machine to similar proj eetions at the rear are cylinders or cones b I). These cylinders, if cylinders are used, carry sprocket-wheels at each end for the purpose of driving endless belts. inders b b are nearer to the center of the machine than the front ends, and the cylinders may be inclined with reference to the frame of the machine, and also with reference to each other.

Surrounding the cylinders b b are endless belts c, of textile or similar material, carrying pickers 0. These endless belts are preferably of the material similar to that used in covering card-clothed rolls in carding-machines, but are in some respects peculiar. I prefer the endless belts to be made of rubber webbing as improved by me for this purpose.

It is not absolutely essential that the endless picker-belts shall be on rolls nearly parallel to the sides of the machine. They may be mounted 011 transverse rolls, so that one edge of each belt will be toward the passageway in the middle of the machine, the belts being adapted to enter between the branches of the plant, as before stated. Theconstruction last referred to, however, I do not claim herein, but may make the subject of a separate application.

Back of the cylinders or 'cones b, and parallel with the outside surface thereof, there'is an endless belt, m, of fabric of the nature of 100 card-clothing, similar to that of belts c. This The rear ends of the cylwill thus be allowed to give slightly at points opposite the belts 0, but will be held in general proximity thereto. The belt 112, I call the stripper and cleaning belt. Its direc tion of motion is preferably downward on the inside and upward on the outside, so as to strip the cotton from belts c, carry it to the bottom of the frame, and elevate it again on the side away from the picker-belts c. The teeth on this belt will be curved in the direction of their movement. The picker-belts cand the stripper-belts m are preferably strengthened and carried at the edges by chains, straps, or metallic bands. perforated for the passage of the teeth on the sprocket-wheels.

Parallel with the outside of the stripperbelts m, I arrange a screen, an, preferably of canvas. There is a little space between the belt at and the canvas m, and the cotton is carried up in this space by motion of belt m.

At the top of the belt at there is a rapidlyrevolving wiper or heater, Q, which is geared preferably from the shaft 02, which drives belt m, as shown at 2 3, Fig. 3. This wiper has arms like the arms or vanes of a wind-wheel, which travel in the same direction as the belt m, but at a much higher speed. These arms engage the fiber on the stripper-belt and throw it from the ends of the bent teeth, so that it falls upon the carrier-belt R.

The carrier or eonveyer belt B moves in ways or passages E in the frame of the machine. It is carried by two pulleys, S Sone at each end of the frame one of which may be on shaft K, and be driven by a belt or chain, V, from the hub X of the driving-wheels. The cotton, which is thrown by the wipers Q upon the belt R, is carried by said belts back toward the scraper U, which is placed just above the surface of belt R on which the cotton rides, and is set at an incline thereto, so that as the belt moves back the cotton will be scraped from its surface into the sack or other receptacle V, which is preferably near the rear of the machine. The cylinders b b are driven by an arrangement of bevel-gears e on shaft f engaging one with each bevel-gear g on the shafts b or b. The shaft f derives its motion from bevel-gears h t'the latter on shaft K- and shaft K is driven by chain V, as stated. The shaft also serves to drive shaft n of the stripper-belt by means of bevel-gears 5 6, connecting the said shafts.

The operation of my device is as follows: The frame is mounted at such a height as to run along a little above the'surface of the ground, and is drawn along the rows of cotton in such manner as to straddle the row' which is to be picked. The fingers a guide the plants toward the front opening in the frame and at the same time enter between the branches of the plant, hold the branches apart, and guide them into the apertures B in the frame. As soon as the frame passes over the plant, so that the branches are inside of the front plates, A, the endless belts, which are in constant motion, begin to comb the cotton fiber from the plant. As the belts converge toward the rear of the machine the branches are more and more compressed between the belts, and are thus thoroughly exposed to the combing action of the teeth on the endless belts. The fiber from the plants is taken by the teeth on the endless picker-belts and conveyed toward the outer frame of the machine, the picker-belts being driven, preferably, in the direction shown by the arrows, Fig. 2. As the teeth of the picker-belts are very closetogether, they have little or no effect on the leaves, branches, or trash from the cottonplants. The same remain attached to the stalk, and the machine passes over and leaves the plants, having picked off the fiber. The stripper-belt takes the fiber from all the pickerbelts on one side and carries it down toward the bottom of the machine, and-then up between the belt and outside screen. This arrangement is for convenience, as the delivery need not necessarily be at the top of the ma chine. Arriving at the point of delivery from the stripper-belt, (by preference the top of the machine, as stated,) the rotary beater takes the fiber from the stripper and throws it on the conveycr-belt, by which it is carried to the bag or receptacle.

I claim 1. In a cotton-picking machine, in combination with suitable driving mechanism, a series of horizontal cylinders extending lengthwise of the machine, or nearly so, and a series of endless belts arranged on said cylinders so as to pass between the branches of the plant, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the supporting-frame, two series of horizontal cylinders extending lengthwise of said frame, or nearly so, with a passage-way between them, endless pickerbelts arranged on the cylinders, substantially as described, and suitable driving mechanism, all substantially as shown and set forth.

3.- The combination, with the front plates having spaces therein, as described, of the guide-fingers, arranged to guide the branches of the plant into said spaces.

4. The combination, with the plates A, having spaces B therein, of the guide-fingers a in front of projections B, said guide-fingers being pointed in front, and gradually increasing in breadth and thickness toward projections B, as shown and described.

5. The combination, with the frame having IIO front plates, A, provided with projections, as stated, of the guide-fingers of the form described, arranged in front of said projections, and the cylinders journaledin said projections and carrying endless picker-belts, substantially as described,. and for thepurpose stated.

6. The combination, with a series of endless picker-belts and suitable operating mechanism, of stripper-belt arranged, as described, in proximity to the picker-belts, so as to strip and convey the cotton therefrom, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a series of pickerbelts arranged horizontally, or nearly so, and operating mechanism, substantially as described, of a stripper-belt arranged in proximity thereto, and adapted to strip and con- .vey the cotton therefrom by suitable mechan ism, substantially as stated.

8. The combihationgvith the series of pickerbelts, arranged as described, of a stripper-belt arranged in proximity thereto, as stated, and a screen arranged parallel with one face of the stripper-belt, whereby the cotton may be the revolving wiper, the conveyer-belt, and.

the scraper arranged, as described, to scrape the cotton from the conveyer-belt into a suitable receptacle, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEO. N. TODD.

Witnesses:

G. P. WEBsTER, W. A. BARTLETT. 

